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So the problem is the "hype" around electric cars, not the electric car itself. Nobody said "buy an electric car, and you are done, the planet would be saved".

by llsf 7y ago

So the problem is the "hype" around electric cars, not the electric car itself. Nobody said "buy an electric car, and you are done, the planet would be saved". And if some people do believe that, then it is an education issue, not an electric car issue. A bit tired of people shooting for perfection and berating those who actually try to make a difference, even so slightly. Maybe a more effective solution would be to ban any fossil fuel powered large ships and planes ("the 15 largest ships in the world emit as much nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide as the world’s 760 million cars." http://www.industrytap.com/worlds-15-biggest-ships-create-more-pollution-than-all-the-cars-in-the-world/8182 http://www.industrytap.com/worlds-15-biggest-ships-create-mo... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_shipping#Atmospheric_pollution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_shippi...). And yet we all know this is not going to happen anytime soon... and still we would keep getting blog posts saying that electric cars are a problem (of hype or whatever) for the environment.

Mirioron 7y ago
>Nobody said "buy an electric car, and you are done, the planet would be saved". And if some people do believe that, then it is an education issue, not an electric car issue. It's irrelevant what people said. What matters is what people believe. >A bit tired of people shooting for perfection and berating those who actually try to make a difference, even so slightly. The problem here is that you only have a limited amount of attention from people to spend on trying to improve climate change. If you misspend it, even when your proposed solution helps, you won't deal with the problem. Imagine you're in a desert with a jug of water. You know the direction you have to go in to get to a city and be saved. You can choose to walk or crawl. If you pick the option to crawl then you're moving in the right direction, but you'll die of thirst before you get there, because you have a limited amount of water. People's attention and will are like that jug of water. You need to make the best of it. Electric cars are great, but people need to understand that that isn't all that needs to be done.
- llsf 7y ago
  I guess we agree that electric car is not the problem, education is. So, let's the 0.2% of them buy electric cars. And let's find a way to get rid of all large (fossil fuel powered) ships/planes and coal/gas power plants polluting way more than all cars combined. All that hair splitting about electric cars is just noise.
  - Mirioron 7y ago
    Nonono, I think you still misunderstand a bit. Electric cars are good. It is a step in the right direction. The problem is the perception that many people have that gasoline cars are the main problem and switching to electric is what's needed. The argument by the author is against the rhetoric of electric cars, not against electric cars themselves. All of what you said is what needs to be done (and more), so we should use rhetoric that acknowledges that cars are only a part of the problem.

by llsf 7y ago

Mirioron 7y ago

>Nobody said "buy an electric car, and you are done, the planet would be saved". And if some people do believe that, then it is an education issue, not an electric car issue. It's irrelevant what people said. What matters is what people believe. >A bit tired of people shooting for perfection and berating those who actually try to make a difference, even so slightly. The problem here is that you only have a limited amount of attention from people to spend on trying to improve climate change. If you misspend it, even when your proposed solution helps, you won't deal with the problem. Imagine you're in a desert with a jug of water. You know the direction you have to go in to get to a city and be saved. You can choose to walk or crawl. If you pick the option to crawl then you're moving in the right direction, but you'll die of thirst before you get there, because you have a limited amount of water. People's attention and will are like that jug of water. You need to make the best of it. Electric cars are great, but people need to understand that that isn't all that needs to be done.

llsf 7y ago
I guess we agree that electric car is not the problem, education is. So, let's the 0.2% of them buy electric cars. And let's find a way to get rid of all large (fossil fuel powered) ships/planes and coal/gas power plants polluting way more than all cars combined. All that hair splitting about electric cars is just noise.
- Mirioron 7y ago
  Nonono, I think you still misunderstand a bit. Electric cars are good. It is a step in the right direction. The problem is the perception that many people have that gasoline cars are the main problem and switching to electric is what's needed. The argument by the author is against the rhetoric of electric cars, not against electric cars themselves. All of what you said is what needs to be done (and more), so we should use rhetoric that acknowledges that cars are only a part of the problem.